Coming soon to the far East side: 200K-square-foot condo building

A tony enclave of Manhattan's Sutton Place has long served as a quiet retreat for the city's upper crust. But the Bauhouse Group is betting that change is afoot.

The firm announced Friday it has acquired a fourth rental property, 426 E. 58th St., and 100,000 square feet of air rights for an undisclosed price, which will allow it to build a 95-unit condo building designed by starchitect Norman Foster's firm along East 58th Street. Bauhouse—which purchased three contiguous buildings for $32 million in January—plans to raze all four of the structures to make way for the new 200,000-square-foot apartment building.

"There hasn't been a true ultra-luxury building (in the neighborhood) since Rosario Candela did One Sutton Place South in 1927," said Joseph Beninati, managing member of the Bauhouse Group, referencing a stately 14-story apartment building between East 56th and East 57th streets.

The firm plans to roll out renderings and specifics on its condo building this spring, before beginning construction over the summer. The development will be in close proximity to midtown's Plaza District, but more importantly, will be just across the river from the forthcoming Cornell Tech campus on Roosevelt Island--accessible by train or cable car.

"What is going to happen (on Roosevelt Island) is a true game changer, and something that will make this neighborhood forever different," said Mr. Beninati.

Bauhouse is also moving ahead with its Chelsea condo development at 515 W. 29th St., which sits in a 90-degree bend of the High Line.

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